Let's Meet Offline
by TheEndOfTomorrow
Summary: Chigusa Kusaka, A.K.A Atoli in The World, receives a slightly unnerving message: Haseo is on his way to visit in real life. Multichapter Haseo x Atoli.
1. Let's Meet Offline

Disclaimer – I do not own .hack. I do not live in nor are associated with the Chiba prefecture of Japan or Ichikawa city. I also do not attend nor have never been affiliated with the Ichikawa High School, mentioned in this fiction. I own none of it.

A/N – Well, pain and late nights appear to be my muse. I was wondering why I couldn't get into the mood to write, but here I am. I am sorry, those who have read and expected more fiction of me, but I'd rather none of it sound forced, which I'm sure it would be without proper inspiration. I am glad to see the responses to Reminiscing Realization, as I fairly enjoyed writing that fiction and even reading it myself, as a fan of the series. Hopefully this can live up to everyone's expectations, my own included. The title of this is also a .hack sound novella, or something of the sort. It fits, but involves the characters from Legend of the Twilight Bracelet.

Just as a note, this fiction will contain spoilers for all three games of the .hack conglomerate (Rebirth, Reminisce, and Redemption).

-Let's Meet Offline-

A multi-chapter Fanfiction by,

TheEndOfTomorrow

-------------------------------------

Chigusa Kusaka, the player behind Epitaph-User Atoli in "The World: Revision 2" stumbled backwards in her computer chair and fell to the floor with a start. Her eyes wide, she removed her M2D module from her head before lightly massaging her temples. The sudden force of the fall had jarred the module into her head and, while causing no damage to the module itself, had pressed it hard into Chigusa's forehead.

With the beginnings of a headache, Chigusa rose up from her not-so-comfortable spot on the floor the glance again at the message that had given her such a shock.

'Atoli_,_

_You mentioned you lived in Ichihara, in the Chiba prefecture, right? Father mentioned he had some business out that way, and...Well, I asked if I could tag along. Think maybe we could meet up somewhere? Just figured since we worked as a team as Epitaph-Users and stuff, we should at least get on some type of a personal basis...heck; we've saved each other from comas numerous times and all. I don't know, if you want to, you should call my cell in two days. I'll get myself dropped off somewhere and we'll meet up. Number is: 555-9597. If I don't get a call, I'll just assume you decided it's in your best interest not to meet up. See you, maybe._

_-Haseo'_

Chigusa reread the message, and gulped in a large amount of air. Haseo, coming here? Her secret crush, coming to meet with her in real life? Chigusa and Haseo had never even traded pictures, and had barely only told each other their real-life names and locations.

Needless to say, Chigusa was completely terrified when she read the message. Chigusa's thoughts turned to everything she would need to do to prepare for Haseo's arrival, but a sudden thought jarred her. Her parents would never allow her to get a makeover, much less walk out of the house with her hair and makeup redone...Chigusa was going to have to dress and go out made up as usual: lame. Haseo would see her, dry heave a little at the sight of her, and run away screaming about how ugly she was...

'I'm going to be so embarrassed...' thought Chigusa, until she was struck by another thought. 'But wait...I've never even seen Haseo either...what if he's...no, he's not some type of freak, but what if he's shy too?' Chigusa giggled a little, imagining her strong Terror of Death pacing nervously, and yelping when she spoke to him. 'Although...that's only a fantasy. He'll be strong and cute...but, he won't want anything to do with me...' Chigusa thought, her mood running into self-loathing and depression once again.

'I guess...I guess the best I can do is go see, right?' She thought, before turning off her computer, putting up the M2D, and going to get ready for bed.

'Haseo...' was her last conscious thought before drifting off to sleep.

---( 2 Days Later, Morning )---

Chigusa slowly approached the young man she caught standing against a wall. He looked extremely arrogant and seemed displeased with something.

"Excuse me, are you...are you my Haseo?" she spoke, gently.

"My Haseo? Since when do I belong to you, Atoli!?" The young man, apparently Haseo, roared. "I belong to Shino, understand?!" He yelled at her again, hatred pouring from his eyes and directing full-force at Chigusa, who stumbled onto the ground, crying. "You're pitiful, you know that?! Why did I even bother to come here and meet you, you filth! You can't stand up on your own, you can't face me, and you're a damn ugly sight to behold too!"

"Ha-Haseo...please! Please, stop!" Chigusa pleaded with Haseo, between sobs and gasps of air.

"And the worst part is, you're not even dressed for the occasion!"

"But what do you...!" Chigusa suddenly realized she was stark naked in front of an entire street of people, not to mention Haseo. It was about this time that Chigusa bolted awake in her room, clutching onto her covers for dear life.

"Oh, what a horrible nightmare..." Chigusa muttered, sitting up and holding her head. "What's today again...?"

Seeing the date, Chigusa gave a noise that was something between an excited squeal and a yelp of terror. On her calendar, she had marked today with a small heart. "Today...already? Oh, what am I going to do...?" Chigusa moaned to herself, placing her head into her hands. "I guess...Won't he be angry with me if I refuse? I don't want that..."

Convincing herself it would be best for Haseo if she showed up, Chigusa reached for her cell phone and punched in the number Haseo had given her. Pushing the button to send the call, Chigusa took a deep breath and waited. Once, twice...with each ring, the thought that she could hang up before he answered swam through her mind, yet she persevered. Until...

"Hello?" came the unmistakable voice of Haseo's player from the other line.

"Ha...seo?" Chigusa started, uncomfortably.

"Atoli? Heh, I thought you had chickened out." Yes, the voice – and attitude – definitely belonged to Haseo.

Chigusa frowned a little. "You think that lowly of me, Haseo?"

"Well, no. I guess the more I thought about it, the creepier the message I sent seemed to be."

Chigusa laughed a little at that. She smiled a little mischievously and then asked, "So, does the player live up to what one would expect from the Terror of Death? I wonder..."

Hearing Haseo's obviously irked stutter from the other side, Chigusa gave herself one small victory over him. "Wh-what's that supposed to mean?! Don't be stupid!" Haseo seemed to regain his composure. "Besides, I could ask the same of you..." Chigusa's victory suddenly came crashing down around her. "And if you want to know so badly, why don't you come find out yourself?" Haseo now had the mischievous hint to his tone.

"All right, I will!" Chigusa spoke, the words coming out before she registered what they meant.

"Good then. Alright, I escaped from Father and his business partners, and I'm standing by some school...Ichikawa High School? Know where that is?"

Chigusa blushed a little. "Er...You're standing about two blocks down from my home..."

"Great! You can come find me then. I'll wait out here for you. See you, Atoli."

"Right, see you..." Chigusa shut her phone with a pale look. Haseo was two blocks away, and she was not prepared at all. 'Oh, he's going to hate me...' thought Chigusa bitterly, feeding her small birds quickly, and then rushing to prepare herself.

---( Roughly an hour and a half later )---

Chigusa ran quickly down the blocks to her school. She was very, very late, and she knew it. 'Oh, please don't be gone Haseo...!' was her main thought as she turned the corner. It was then she saw him.

The young man had dark black hair, which Chigusa thought in retrospect, she shouldn't have expected to be silver, like his character. For the most part though, her assumptions had been accurate. His hair fell somewhat like Haseo's design had in his Xth form, and he wore a black jacket, giving off the 'Terror of Death' aura from his previous forms. The most striking thing, and the thing that caught Chigusa off guard, were his eyes.

'They're that deep auburn color...just like his character...' Chigusa realized that she had been staring at him, and he was now staring back.

"Chi-Chigusa, right?" he said, the voice again unmistakably belonging to Haseo.

Chigusa nodded a little, her legs feeling weak. "R-Ryou, correct?"

Ryou Misaki nodded once, and stood. Just like in 'The World', he stood a good five inches taller than Chigusa herself. The two of them stood at what seemed like opposite ends of the world from one another, simply taking in each other's presence...this time, for real.

Ryou spoke first. "Chigusa?"

Chigusa started a little, blushing and regaining herself. "Um...yes?"

Ryou cracked a small smile, but not exactly the cocky one Haseo tended to have. "I thought you were supposed to be the ugliest thing alive? There's no need to lie, you know."

Chigusa's blush now deepened, and she swore she could feel it spreading all over her body. "We-well...uh...um...th-that...well, it's a wonder girls don't fawn over you, too!" Chigusa blurted out the last bit, blushing more when she realized she had said it.

However, it was now Ryou's turn to tinge red as well. The two of them avoided eye contact for a couple of minutes, the awkward air pervading heavily between the two of them.

"Well, good thing we've got the introductions out of the way." Ryou said, a light jest to the situation.

--------------------------------------------------

A/N – I guess I am making this into a multi-chapter fiction. The entire meeting and everything I have planned from here on out seem to be too much to fit into a chapter, at least by my standards. Even if it is multi-chaptered this will not be long, I am estimating about somewhere from two to four more chapters. Ichikawa is a real city in the Chiba prefecture of Japan. I made Atoli live there because it is only established that Chigusa Kusaka lives in the Chiba prefecture. The Ichikawa High School is also a real private high school there; I threw that in for the sake of realism. I attempted to do research on Japanese phone number format, but as it grew too complex, I simply stuck with American number format. The only other thing I can think to address is that Atoli (Chigusa) gets random bursts of self-confidence in this fiction because quite frankly, she needs more than she has in the games for this to not turn into an Angst fanfiction. Angst is fun by all means, but it's not what I am aiming for with this work.

Until next chapter,

Take care, Dear Reader.

-TheEndOfTomorrow


	2. Proud Falcon and Killing Vultures

Disclaimer - I do not own .hack. I do not live in nor are associated with the Chiba prefecture of Japan or Ichikawa city. I also do not attend nor have never been affiliated with the Ichikawa High School, mentioned in this fiction. I own none of it.

A/N – So far, at the time of me typing this, all the responses to this fiction seem to be positive. I am thoroughly glad that people are enjoying the idea and the story so far. I will try to do what I can to separate this fiction from other romance fictions and make it something of a "fresh" read rather than following the strict formula setup for romance fictions, but I cannot guarantee how well that will work. Mostly, I am going to rely on subtle differences in the "form" and see how well that turns out. In any case, here is the next piece to this particular story.

One warning though: This contains spoilers for all three volumes of the .hack conglomerate (Rebirth, Reminisce and Redemption.)

-Let's Meet Offline-

Chapter Two: The Proud Falcon and the Killing Vultures

A multi-chapter Fanfiction by,

TheEndOfTomorrow

------------------------------------------------

Last Chapter in our tale:

_Ryou cracked a small smile, but not exactly the cocky one Haseo tended to have. "I thought you were supposed to be the ugliest thing alive? There's no need to lie, you know."_

_Chigusa's blush now deepened, and she swore she could feel it spreading all over her body. "We-well...uh...um...th-that...well, it's a wonder girls don't fawn over you, too!" Chigusa blurted out the last bit, blushing more when she realized she had said it._

_However, it was now Ryou's turn to tinge red as well. The two of them avoided eye contact for a couple of minutes, the awkward air pervading heavily between the two of them. _

"_Well, good thing we've got the introductions out of the way." Ryou said, a light jest to the situation. _

---(Rejoining our hero and heroine..)---

Chigusa walked down the block, with Ryou following her at a minor distance. Not much had been said for an awkward five minutes after Ryou's sarcastic comment, until Chigusa had finally broke the awkward silence by asking Ryou what he had wanted to do.

"Well, you know Ichikawa better than me I'd hope? You pick something." He had replied. Chigusa complied and began walking, but with no set destination in mind. She of course had plenty of things she liked to do, but each time she began to entertain the thought of them, she convinced herself Ryou would hate it.

"Chigusa?" came Ryou's voice, causing her to stop and face him. She glanced at him questioningly, until he spoke once again. "We've gone in a circle three times. Thought you might like to know." He said, before cracking into a slightly cocky smirk.

'Ah, there's the Haseo part of him surfacing...' Chigusa mentally sighed. "Sorry about that, Ryou, I just don't know what you would like to do..."

Ryou sighed, putting his palm to his face. He peeked out one eye from behind his hand and looked at Chigusa very pointedly before speaking, "Didn't I tell you to just pick something?" Ryou waited now for the quickly spoken, self-deflating response that would normally come from Atoli had this conversation been online.

Sure enough, "I just don't know what you like to do, Ryou!" Chigusa spoke quickly, her words rushing together into one rambling sentence. "Please, Ryou, just pick something, I mean, we have to have something you like around here and I'm dead sure you won't like anything I do, I just do my schoolwork or go to the pet store or go to the park and watch the birds and-!"

Ryou put a finger to Chigusa's lips, silencing her as well as turning her a tinge pink. "The park. Sounds fine. See?" He said slowly, before removing his finger. Chigusa nodded slowly, her blush fading, and quickly lead Ryou down a street they had yet to venture onto. During the walk, Ryou noticed Chigusa continually almost running into things, as she kept turning her head to look at him. The third time this had happened, Ryou caught her gaze with his own stare, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"S-sorry, it's just..." Chigusa spoke, sounding a little embarrassed at getting caught staring several times in a single day. "Your eyes, they're just like...like your PC's are."

Ryou nodded a little, thinking back to when he had argued with himself mentally over the subject of his own and his PC's appearances, and if there was any correlation between them a couple of months back. "You really think they're the same?"

Chigusa nodded. "They are. I look at them enough-nevermind..." Chigusa trailed off; aware she was about to cause yet another bout of awkwardness between the pair.

"What was that?" Ryou questioned.

"Nothing, Ryou." She turned to face him, smiling. "Well, here we are!" Chigusa spread her arms, as Ryou glanced around. The park was not very large, but covered in bright green. The Sun now shone higher overhead, inching ever closer to its 12-o'clock pinnacle height. The park wasn't crowded, with one small family in a corner and a couple walking along a path, clinging onto one another such that they seemed to be as one.

'God, what I wouldn't give...' thought Chigusa, with another sideways glance at Ryou. The pair of Epitaph-Users were now walking forward into the clearing towards a park bench, but they weren't quite as close as either of them hoped to be. Both of them sat down on the bench that seemed to be too small, their arms touching at the slightest movements.

Chigusa shook off the haze that had settled into her thoughts at simply being so close to Ryou, and spoke first. "Are you sure you don't mind this, Ryou? We can do something else if you get bored."

Ryou shook his head. "This is fine, Chigusa. Don't doubt yourself so much."

The pair spent the next half-hour discussing various in-game things: The narrowly-avoided Third Network Crisis, the Epitaphs, and their in-game friends and fellow Epitaph-Users.

Chigusa, fighting a fit of laughter, said, "Ryou, you really might want to..." She broke into a small fit before continuing, "...You know, um...Just don't drop anything you have to pick up when Endrance is near you!"

Ryou sulked. "It's not like that! Endrance is just...he seems that way, because he's 'The Temptress'!"

Chigusa was no longer trying to hold back the laughter. "That means you better watch out, because he's going to turn on the charm near you!"

Ryou sank into his coat, which was now hanging off his shoulders. He didn't need the warmth in Chiba's climate, at least not at the moment. "Well," muttered Ryou darkly, "You sure tried the same thing with Sakaki back then, huh?"

Chigusa stopped laughing, and looked away. Ryou, knowing he had hit a sensitive spot, quickly tried to apologize. "Sorry, Chigusa, I know you still don't want to talk about him..."

Chigusa shook her head. "I didn't like Sakaki like that, Ryou. He was just the one I could tell everything to, and...nothing more than that. It really affects a person, you know, when someone stops them from killing themselves..." Chigusa paused, as Ryou let this sink in. He had heard where Chigusa had met Sakaki, but it had never really registered that Chigusa had truly once been that depressed and unhappy with life. Chigusa continued, "Of course, he's not even that important now..." Chigusa looked back at Ryou's face, smiling. "You are."

Ryou felt a blush creeping up his face, before giving a short nod. "Any-anytime, Chigusa." Ryou wanted to turn his face away from Chigusa, but found himself simply unable. Chigusa seemed to feel the same, as she was rapidly flushing red in the face as well, yet she remained looking into Ryou's eyes.

"Oh, gross! Kusaka finally nabbed herself some poor blind guy!"

Chigusa buried her head in her hands. The voice belonged to someone from her school, one of her former friends. As she had confessed to Haseo under the effects of AIDA, these friends had shunned her because they wouldn't hang out with some 'uncool' girl. Since that time, ridiculing everything about Chigusa had become their new past-time.

A tall brunette and a short blonde stood near the pair, laughing. "Poor guy...That's shameful, Kusaka, using his inability to see just to finally get yourself a boyfriend!"

Ryou growled, getting to his feet. "I can see just fine."

The short blonde laughed at Ryou's comment, as though it couldn't be true. Both of them had shrill laughs and holier-than-thou tones about them. As the blonde laughed, Ryou gritted his teeth together, and spoke through them, "Stop laughing! You're pissing me off! Get out of here, Chigusa hasn't done you any wrong! She doesn't deserve this crap!"

The blonde gave a fake gasp. "You mean she hasn't been so uncool that she had to try and draw us down to her level with her? 'Please, can't you just accept me for who I am?'" She and her friend laughed, as Ryou balled his hands into fists.

"Chigusa isn't on your level, that's right." Ryou's eyes flashed menacingly in the blonde and brunette's direction. "She's on a far higher level than either of you pathetic skanks could ever hope to be!"

Chigusa's eyes widened as she watched the scene unfold before her. Ryou was defending her...! 'This is the first time, in real life that someone's ever gone so far for me...' thought Chigusa. Unfortunately for Ryou, both of the offending girls had brought rather sizeable boyfriends along to the park with them, and after hearing Ryou's last sentence, both of them made their way over to the offending pair, audibly cracking their knuckles.

"Ryou, don't!" Chigusa called as she saw Ryou raise his own fists in response.

Ryou held his position, his eyes narrowed and surveying his opponents like the keen eyes of a falcon, studying how to best handle them. The two larger boys circled their prey, like vultures waiting for the kill.

---( Ryou's POV )---

Don't? Don't defend your honor, Chigusa? Never!

"Stand back, Chigusa." Came my reply, coolly. Heh, it was cooler than I felt about the situation, in any case. In a perfect world, only one of them would be here and I might have a chance.

Anyway, it's a shame Skeith doesn't work in the outside world.

One of the lugs took a gigantic swing at me, and I held up an arm to block the outside swing. I'm not a weakling or anything, but two-versus-one? Stuff like this happens in animes; I knew I wasn't going to win in real life. But, for Chigusa's dignity...I'll have to fight, since she won't stand up for herself.

I aimed a kick at the leg of the first attacker; He had a minor limp earlier, and I was willing to bet he might have some leg problems. Sure enough, the brute stumbled back in pain. I grinned a little at my own victory, and then remembered I was in a fight a little too late. His companion had come up behind me, and was holding me in some kind of choking position. As I fought for air, my head flailed backward, and I felt pain. I think I had connected with his nose, and I felt the hands holding my neck from behind slacken.

Taking this opportunity, I twisted and threw back my elbow into the assaulter's solar plexus. As the wind rushed out of his mouth and he fell, I was forced to remember that there were two of them.

The other one had recovered, and clocked me in the side of the face. I fell, and for the next few minutes, all I felt was pain all over as they dished out all they could while I was down.

I couldn't get back up again...

I failed you, Chigusa, I'm sorry...

The pain stopped...

I barely saw the pair of girls and their boyfriends stalk off, laughing...

I was left to contend with my own failure...

I saw Chigusa's worried face over my own...

And everything went black from there.

----------------------------------------------------

A/N – In a perfect anime world, Ryou, the defender of Chigusa's name, would have won that fight. I don't want this to be a perfect world, so he did not. That's one of the subtle differences from most romance stories that I threw in, I'm not entirely sure that it makes it different, though. I will try to come up with more ideas to further that difference. I also grappled with the idea of staying with continuity and showing the fight from the 3rd/person-w/ access to Chigusa's thoughts perspective, but I figured it would be easier to show it through a participant rather than drag another person into the narration. Since I was already changing from Chigusa to Ryou, I figured I'd go ahead and make it first person anyway. I hope this chapter is to your liking, Dear Reader.

Until next chapter,

Take care, Dear Reader.

-TheEndOfTomorrow.


	3. The Avatar Interlude

Disclaimer - I do not own .hack. I do not live in nor are associated with the Chiba prefecture of Japan or Ichikawa city. I also do not attend nor have never been affiliated with the Ichikawa High School, mentioned in this fiction. I own none of it.

A/N – Coming as quite a shock to my low self-esteem, this fanfiction seems to sit well with all of you whom have read it to date, Dear Readers. This raises my spirits significantly, as have the countless Favorite Story adds and Author Alert adds. I am glad that my writing has not deteriorated in the three-to-four year gap of renouncing Authorship, and instead, seems to have improved. Again, I am trying my very best to make this fanfiction differ from other romance stories as not to seem too "stale". We shall see how that venture turns out, will we not, Dear Readers?

Again a warning to those who might have missed it: This contains spoilers for all 3 volumes of the .hack Conglomerate (Rebirth, Reminisce, and Redemption.)

-Let's Meet Offline-

Chapter Three: The Avatar Interlude

A multi-chapter Fanfiction by,

TheEndOfTomorrow

---------------------------------------------------------------

Last Chapter in our tale:

_The other one had recovered, and clocked me in the side of the face. I fell, and for the next five minutes, all I felt was pain all over as they dished out all they could while I was down._

_I couldn't get back up again...I failed you, Chigusa, I'm sorry...The pain stopped...I was left to contend with my own failure...I saw the pair of girls and their boyfriends stalk off, laughing...I saw Chigusa's worried face over my own...And everything went black from there._

---( Ryou's POV )---

I tried to open my eyes, but I could not. Yet somehow, I could tell that the blackness before me was not merely because my eyelids were shut. I was in a dark room, and could somehow see that. I had no idea where I was, no idea where those creeps were, and most importantly, no idea if Chigusa was alright. I called her name out into the dark, hoping for some sort of answer to this riddle.

'_Chigusa!' _I felt my mouth move, and I felt the words exit my mouth...yet, I did not hear them. I tried again and again, but nothing. I could not make a sound. A sudden thought struck me: Was it possible that I had been beaten to death, and was now sitting in my own personal hell? Ice-cold fear spread through my veins at the thought. Suddenly, I heard a voice, although...I did not 'hear' it so much as sense it.

'User.'

I glanced around in every direction looking for the source of the voice. Strange enough that I was in this situation; it was even stranger that I had not heard the voice, but still knew it had indeed spoken. I once again tried to speak. _'Who are you? Where are you? Why can't I speak, or hear your voice? And for that matter, where the hell am I?!'_

The voice replied, 'User, we reside within you. Of course you cannot speak, because there is no need to speak within your own mind. And of course you cannot hear me, for you do not need to hear something within your thoughts.'

Slightly taken aback at the revelation that I was talking (sort of) to a voice in my head, I shot back, _'But...Why am I here? And why are you here?'_

'You are here, because you need to be. Because you need to know, User. You need to know precisely how much the beings you call 'Avatars' affect you.'

Suddenly, as though a light had been turned on, my glowing, red-and-white Avatar Skeith appeared before me.

'User, do not be so shocked. Surely you guessed that as we Avatars provide you with a manifestation of form within "The World", you Users must give something as well. While our actual programmed bodies exist within the fantasy world, a small piece of your mind houses our data...'

As the initial shock of seeing my Avatar pop up in front of me wore off, I found my 'voice' again. _'Okay, I had guessed as much...But why are we even speaking now?'_

The Avatar remained floating in front of me, without a malleable face to show expression from. It replied, 'You were knocked unconscious in the real world. What I have to tell you concerns the User you call 'Atoli' as well.'

At this point, I was starting to get unnerved at how closely the Avatars were bonded with us...and, a little ticked off. _'Listen, you belong to me! My mind is my own, and while you can exist in it, you can't just...call me here like it's your home! Besides, since when did you Avatars become experts on conversation and advice anyway?!'_

I had a feeling at this point that could he have, Skeith would have been grinning. 'User, you are mistaken. This is very much my home. And because I have chosen to reside here, you gain the power of my Epitaph. Did you not tell me that you were 'not letting me go'? I disturb nothing; it's surely not such a bad tradeoff?' I was about to 'speak', but the Avatar raised a single hand, as if to halt me. 'I am not finished. That outburst there is precisely why I needed to call upon you. You Users emanate the qualities that make us Avatars what we are. You and I together, are the Terror of Death.' I nodded, about to interject again, when the Avatar raised its hand once more to silence me. 'You, Ryou Misaki, player Haseo, are quick to anger. That innate flaw drew me to you- among other reasons.' I was left to ponder over exactly what that meant, before I finally spoke.

'_What, did you turn into that American Dr. Phil overnight?! Telling me obvious things that I already-'_

'User, this can and very likely will ruin your chances with User Atoli, should you let it.'

The breath caught in my throat. _'How...how much do you know about that?'_

'Enough to know that you don't want it to end in that way. If something negative happens to you, it raises the chance that the portion of my program that is still under the influence of Morganna and NOT under yours will rise up again. Trust me, existing as an extension of you is much better and much more interesting than being a slave to Morganna Mode Gone.' Skeith gave me a chance to remember that first and last time I had let things get out of control, against Kuhn in the Arena finals...when the 'power' I believed in so firmly turned against me.

'User Atoli is Innis, the Mirage of Deceit. Before this meeting, during it, and in the future, User, she is going to lie to you about herself-mostly, her feelings. I know you're smart enough to see through this, but I implore you: Do not anger! She needs to know that you care, not worry about whether you're going to forsake her and stop speaking to her, User!'

I gave a slight nod, amazed that a part of myself knew this much and hadn't told me for so long. _'Fine. I'll...I'll try my best. That satisfactory?'_

The avatar before me gave a slight nod as well. 'You're about to wake up, User. They wounded your right arm significantly, although I do not think it is broken. User Atoli got an older man to bring you to her home- I think he might be her father.'

I felt a sinking feeling within me. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, for sure. _'Well, I guess there's no way around meeting him then. Thanks, Skeith. Don't go berserk or anything.'_

'And quite literally, the same to you, User.'

---( Normal POV )---

Ryou blinked rapidly, trying to adjust his eyes to the light streaming into the room he was in. It was...pink. He had been brought to Chigusa's room, and lay upon her bed.

"Ryou?! You're awake...Oh, thank goodness!" Chigusa cried, rushing from a chair to his side. Ryou was lying on her bed, his right arm in a makeshift splint. When Ryou glanced at it with a questioning look, Chigusa spoke. "We had thought it might be broken...It doesn't appear to be, though. I didn't want to disturb your rest by taking it off though..."

Ryou grunted in reply, and sat up some. In a fit of stubborn pride, he pulled the splint off, grimacing as his arm swung free and his nerves screamed in pain. 'Ow, ow, ow...' After a glance at the clock to his left, Ryou's eyes widened. "Chigusa, what day is it?!"

"It's been almost a day since the fight...I called my father and he brought you here, to my home...We found a cell phone on you and he called your father, to let him know what had happened and that you were all right...Your father came by to pick you up yesterday afternoon, but he didn't want to disturb you either," Chigusa's mouth started to curve up into a smile as she spoke. "So, he asked my parents-particularly my father's-permission to let you stay for a couple of days!"

Ryou's eyes widened further and his jaw was left slightly agape by this point in Chigusa's tale. "He said he would return in about three days' time, after his business was done to take you home, Ryou." Spoke Chigusa simply, beaming at the shocked Ryou.

Ryou quickly wiped the expression on his face when he realized Chigusa was staring and replaced it with a sour look. "Passing me off on whoever would take me, huh Dad..."

"Don't say that, Ryou! Your father was very worried over the phone; I know that he cared more than that!" Chigusa suddenly turned a slight shade of scarlet. "Speaking of fathers, Ryou...um...m-my father wanted to talk to you once you woke up...he sort of...got the wrong idea about us, and won't-"

Chigusa was cut off midsentence by an older man walking into the room. He turned his head to Chigusa and muttered gruffly "Out." Chigusa inclined her head to the floor a little and obeyed, exiting the room and shutting the door behind her. The older man, undoubtedly Chigusa's father, moved over to the chair next to where Ryou lay and sat. "How is it?" he spoke.

"...Pardon me?" Ryou uttered, weakly. He was extremely intimidated by this man.

"Your arm." Spoke Mr. Kusaka, scrutinizing Ryou's appearance. "Well, I suppose you wouldn't be moving so much if it did hurt that badly. My wife doesn't trust you, you know."

Ryou sat listening, unsure how best to reply to that. "Er...why, exactly?" Ryou asked, lamely.

Mr. Kusaka straightened in his chair, leaning back into it a little. "Well, she says you're just some fancy flyboy trying to sweep her daughter off her feet by getting into a fight in front of her." Ryou opened his mouth to clearly protest, when the man lifted his palm for silence. Ryou made a mental note to himself at how often it seemed people liked to silence him in that fashion. "I think differently, boy. As far as Chigusa and your father said, you don't know anyone around here enough to know who needs a good punch in their face. Quite frankly, I think it showed real backbone and fortitude to take on the fight so quickly, and in my daughter's honor."

"Um...thank you?" Ryou spoke, again feeling as though he had not given quite a suitable response.

"No, thank you." Spoke Mr. Kusaka, looking straight at Ryou. "My wife doesn't trust you, but I know now that you wouldn't do anything to dishonor my daughter. We're both very old fashioned, you see." Ryou nodded, having already learned that much from Chigusa herself. "We don't allow Chigusa to see boys, and we don't allow her to dress up and frill about like the rest of the girls her age. As far as I'm concerned, any boy who can clearly see though all of that crap and see an honestly good girl is fine for my daughter." Mr. Kusaka sighed, staring slightly past Ryou and glancing at the wall. "My wife, however, will not be easy to win over. In fact, I doubt you ever will even if you tried your hardest."

Ryou tried to speak quickly, "But-but sir, we're not...I mean, Chigusa and I aren't..." Realizing his speech had failed because of the blush burning hotly on his face, Ryou simply sighed.

Mr. Kusaka gave a short laugh, and spoke again, staring down the young man. "Chigusa told me that too, and in much the same way you just did. Bull, but if you teenagers would like to believe yourselves, go right on ahead."

Mr. Kusaka laughed again, but looked at Ryou seriously afterward. "Really, watch out for my wife. You'll be staying in the guest room for the remainder of your stay, but...lock your door." Said Mr. Kusaka, half jokingly, and half seriously. After shaking Ryou's hand, he exited the room, leaving Ryou stunned.

'Let...let me run through all of this. I'm staying at Chigusa's house. Her father didn't kill me, and actually trusts me. Her mother is the one that wants me killed. My father didn't raise any protest to this, and actually SUGGESTED I should be with Chigusa. Finally, my Avatar has taken up residence in my mind, and is trying to give me advice on my love life.' Thought Ryou, quickly becoming exhausted by the weight of it all.

Ryou collapsed backwards onto the bed. His head was beginning to throb, and he felt completely sapped of the will to stay awake any further.

Chigusa watched him lay back onto the bed from her doorway, uttering a soft sigh. Her father approved of Ryou...it was a little much for her to believe. 'But Mother...' She thought, staring at Ryou, whom was falling into sleep once more. With another lovesick sigh, Chigusa thought,

'I know you probably don't, but...if we both want it to happen, we'll find a way... isn't that right, Ryou?'

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A/N: Cute and overly sappy. Except that instead of Chigusa's father wanting Ryou out of contact with his daughter, it is instead the mother. Perhaps I could have left out the parental conflict, but at the least I managed to form it into the road lesser taken. I will make no claim at originality in this, as I am sure there are romance fictions out there where the father approves while the mother does not. The bit with Skeith was probably creative license going overboard, but I wanted to throw it in. This certainly does not feel like the best chapter of the three so far, but then again, my self-esteem says that every time I publish a chapter. In the end, it's up to you readers to decide that much. Also, predictably, Ryou gained a time extension for his stay with Chigusa. Really, who could fall in love with someone they had just technically met a less than a day before? Three (four, really) days is pushing it enough, but I refuse to write a two month to half a year long fanfiction in the name of originality.

Besides, I still have to insert the drama, of course. I hope this chapter is (somewhat) to your liking, Dear Reader.

Until next chapter,

Take Care, Dear Reader.

-TheEndOfTomorrow.


	4. Maternal Spite

Disclaimer - I do not own .hack. I do not live in nor are associated with the Chiba prefecture of Japan or Ichikawa city. I also do not attend nor have never been affiliated with the Ichikawa High School, mentioned in this fiction. I own none of it.

A/N – I could only laugh as I saw you Dear Readers prove me wrong once more. I see now that I cannot base the success of a chapter upon my own feelings alone, and will be sure not to do so in the future. In any case, I am of course glad that everyone continues to appreciate the fiction. I must note, however, that the last chapter was written by me in a bad mood at the end of a bad day, most likely having something to do with my feeling about the chapter. I have an initially good feeling for this chapter, and we all shall certainly see how that pans out.

Of course, a continued warning: This fiction contains spoilers for all three Volumes of the games and the players' back-stories, particularly Chigusa Kusaka and Ryou Misaki (Atoli and Haseo).

-Let's Meet Offline-

Chapter Four: Maternal Spite

A Multi-chapter Fanfiction by,

TheEndOfTomorrow

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last Chapter in our tale:

_Ryou collapsed backwards onto the bed. His head was beginning to throb, and he felt completely sapped of the will to stay awake any further._

_Chigusa watched him lay back onto the bed from her doorway, uttering a soft sigh. Her father approved of Ryou...it was a little much for her to believe. 'But Mother...' She thought, staring at Ryou, whom was falling into sleep once more. With another lovesick sigh, Chigusa thought,_

'_I know you probably don't, but...if we both want it to happen, we'll find a way... isn't that right, Ryou?'_

---(Later that afternoon)---

Ryou stirred from his slumber, eyes fluttering open to streams of orange sunlight gleaming into the excessively pink room of Chigusa Kusaka.

"Chigusa," Ryou began, "if you like pink this much, why didn't you make your avatar in the game wear it?"

Chigusa gave a gasp of surprise as she heard Ryou's voice. She sat at her computer desk with a set of M2D around her head and a controller in her hands. Quickly removing both items from her person, she stood and turned to face Haseo. "I actually don't care for the color...my Mother likes it." Ryou nodded, glancing at the room once more until Chigusa spoke again. "I was just on the game, letting everyone know you were alright. Silabus wanted to know if you would log on just to replenish the guild shop items...?"

Ryou sighed. "Why the hell won't he do it himself...? Jackass...always smiling, but never...bah..." Ryou muttered grumpily, standing up and moving over to Chigusa's desktop computer. He flung on the M2D set and accepted the one-handed controller Chigusa handed to him, the same one she had used when AIDA affected her arm. Ryou performed a guest login, and Chigusa saw a third-person view of Breg Epona and the white-clad Terror of Death's PC on the monitor.

"Kuhnie!"

Haseo groaned, shooting a glare to his right. Sure enough, Kuhn was present and surrounded by a gaggle of no less than four women.

"Ladies, please!" Kuhn yelled in mock-anger. "Let me through, I need to talk to my bud Haseo here!" Moving through the group, he swept around to face them, his oversized ponytail nearly coming into contact with Haseo's face. "Hey, I'll be back later, I swear it! I could never leave you ladies behind..." Grinning, Kuhn turned once more to face Haseo. "Aah, popularity." Spoke the energetic Epitaph-User, putting his arm around Haseo's neck. "So, I'm hearing you're pretty popular with a certain lady lately too..."

In real life, Ryou tinged pink while Chigusa giggled at Kuhn's behavior. There weren't too many people in the game who would touch, much less put an arm around the former PKK.

Shrugging away Kuhn's arm, Haseo began to walk forward into the town. "It's none of your business. I just came here to meet her since we were once working as Epitaph-Users, and some things happened..." Haseo muttered, trailing off. "Anyway, here I am, stuck for three more days." Haseo stole a look at Kuhn, who grinning from ear to ear. Ryou sighed. 'Here it comes...the headache...'

"I knew it! Listen," Kuhn said, trying to grab Haseo in a headlock, which Haseo dodged, shouting curses at Kuhn. Kuhn continued speaking, not distracted by the colorful names he was being called. "I knew you had something for Atoli! Come on, you didn't suggest meeting in real life to any other Epitaph-Users!"

Chigusa lightly started at that bit of information, watching the computer monitor intently. Ryou was quickly becoming flustered under the M2D, and it showed on Haseo as well. 'Could he possibly...?' Chigusa mused.

As Haseo struggled to reply to Kuhn, Kuhn simply stood still with a knowing grin on his face. Finally, Haseo found his voice. "Idiot! Just because you're 'the Propagation', you think everyone needs to spend their time flirting with girls!"

Kuhn's eyes opened, the grin vanishing in a light bit of shock. Half serious and half jokingly, Kuhn replied, "What, you're not interested in Endrance or anything, are you?"

Haseo swore loudly at Kuhn, so that the entire three-way Junction of Breg Epona caught a glimpse of that colorful end to their conversation. Haseo stalked off towards the Warp Point to get to Canard's Home without any further encounters.

Kuhn watched Haseo warp away, with a light smirk on his face. 'Haseo, don't hurt her any more. She's been through too much.'

The entire time Ryou had Haseo in the Home, checking on Shop Acorn's item stock and putting new items into the guild storeroom for sale, Chigusa thought about the encounter with Kuhn. She had talked with Kuhn a lot, and she suspected he knew she harbored feelings for Haseo...and from the way Kuhn talked to Haseo, it sounded like Haseo reciprocated those feelings somewhat...

'Of course,' Chigusa mused further, remembering when Kuhn had left G.U. behind for a while, 'he has been wrong before...'

Throughout the process of her thinking, Ryou had only been muttering darkly to himself under the M2D, only cutting time out of that to shout at a startled Macabre Dancer who had joined the guild in hopes of meeting the Guild master. Ryou motioned for Chigusa to move closer and look at something on the screen, which she did, not hearing a word he spoke. Unable to see his eyes because of the M2D, Chigusa stared at his lips, moving rapidly as he spoke about whatever he had wanted her to see. Lost in staring at the young man, Chigusa failed to listen to what he was saying, and thus failed to reply.

"Chigusa?" Ryou said, beginning to wonder if she had left the room. "Are you even there?" Ryou sat down the controller and moved his left hand and leg, trying to feel around for her presence. Ryou's leg managed to come in contact with Chigusa's, and both youths stiffened at the sensation. Chigusa broke from her daze and blushed quickly, while Ryou quickly moved his leg back under the desk, muttering, "Yeah, you're there..." lamely.

"Dinner! Get down here and bring the boy!" Called a shrill, female voice from the lower part of Chigusa's home.

"Mother..." Chigusa said. Ryou logged out of the game and swept off the M2D, standing at once.

"Let's go." Ryou spoke, solemnly, giving the impression that he was ready for anything. In truth, Ryou's brain was screaming and the pit of his stomach had an odd sinking sensation in it. 'Oh well, I'll have to meet her eventually...' Ryou thought, as the pair exited Chigusa's room and moved down a staircase. 'Might as well be at dinner, where there'll be witnesses...'

A very strict-looking woman was sitting at a large circular mahogany table, which took up the presence of the room it was in. Mr. Kusaka sat in a chair as well, looking rather sheepish and throwing a furtive glance at Ryou. "Sit." Spoke Mrs. Kusaka, and as Chigusa took her place, Ryou moved to sit next to her. "No." She said, glaring at Ryou.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Ryou replied, already disliking where this was going.

"You're not sitting next to her. Move your chair down further." Mrs. Kusaka pointed to a spot farther down the table from Chigusa and her parents. "You are an outsider, so you'll behave like one, young man."

Ryou, with an upsurge of anger, scooted his chair to the aforementioned spot, then sat and glared at her. "You do realize I'm still sitting next to Chigusa? Ma'am?" Ryou added the last bit on with an extreme effort.

"What?" Mrs. Kusaka spoke sharply, her eyes leering at Ryou like knives that wanted to cut into him.

"The table's a circle. I'm sitting next to Chigusa, and you." Ryou gestured, showing that it was true, regardless of the distance. "Ma'am." Ryou tacked on, again as an afterthought.

Mrs. Kusaka stared at Ryou for a moment, tongue-in-cheek. Finally she spoke, "Sarcasm and rudeness. Told you," She said, turning to her husband. "Ingrate boys like him have no table manners."

Mr. Kusaka shrugged and muttered an answer, shooting a glance at Ryou that clearly spoke 'Quit while you're ahead'. Ryou kept his mouth shut after that, and began to gather some food after the other three had taken their shares.

"You're eating far too much." Spoke Mrs. Kusaka, this time staring at Chigusa. Chigusa muttered an apology and moved to put some uneaten items back, when Mrs. Kusaka practically screamed, "Stupid girl! Don't put them back after you've touched them! Eat, eat it all, and watch how fat you grow!"

Ryou had to bite his tongue not to tell her that Chigusa had far less on her plate than Mrs. Kusaka did on hers.

Dinner continued in an uncomfortable silence, broken only by Mrs. Kusaka's occasional criticizing of Chigusa. The older woman had not addressed Ryou again; simply shooting nasty glares at him as though he were an unsightly decoration in the dining room. Finally, Chigusa finished and excused herself from the table, walking away and up the stairs quickly. Ryou did the same, and stood to walk after Chigusa. However, he was stopped in his tracks by Mrs. Kusaka's beckoning.

"Boy." She said, and Ryou halted, grudgingly turning around to face her. She continued, "My daughter is unsightly, unclean and not worthy of being in my house. But I'd rather have her here where I can contain her, rather than her going out there," She said, with a glance to a window. "And working the streets to get by, soiling MY reputation." Ryou's anger surged inside him, but with a glance from Mr. Kusaka, he capped it off with an effort. However, Ryou's fists remained clenched, as she spoke once again, "I don't know what type of game you're trying to pull, getting involved with a girl so unsightly that nobody would want her, but I will NOT have you upending this household. It is mine, and the things within it belong to me. My filthy daughter included!" Mrs. Kusaka glared at Ryou as she finished her sentence.

"How..." Ryou's anger was now beyond control. "How DARE you...speak of her...!" Ryou's eyes were flooded with anger, anger at the woman sitting at the table before him, the woman who leered at him, the woman who was only concerned about herself, and the woman who hated...

"An angel..."

"What?" Mrs. Kusaka spoke sharply, her eyes still locked onto Ryou with a glare.

Ryou caught another glance from Mr. Kusaka, and stopped his outburst short. "Nothing." He spoke, the anger not abating one bit, but knowing Chigusa would likely bear the punishment if he shouted.

Turning to her husband. Mrs. Kusaka said, "See? I told you. This is your fault; I don't know why you allowed this violent boy to stay here!" Quickly, Mr. Kusaka muttered an apology, not looking his wife in the eye.

Ryou took this opportunity to slip upstairs, glancing around for Chigusa. Entering her room, he found her on the verge of tears, sitting down. Chigusa had taken a pair of scissors out of her desktop, and was holding out her arm. Ryou had not noticed that Chigusa had been wearing long-sleeved shirts the entire visit and now saw why.

Chigusa's arm was covered in scars of all sizes.

Chigusa looked up at Ryou, the tears spilling forth from her eyes. Without a word, Ryou walked over to her, took the scissors, and set them aside. He knelt down and embraced Chigusa, who began to sob into the young man's shoulder.

"S-see? Th-this is why...!" She said, in between sobs.

Ryou shushed her, and tightened his grip. Chigusa said no more and spent herself into his shoulder. Ryou wondered,

'How did her life come to this?' With a single tear escaping his left eye as well.

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A/N – Sorry to any Dear Readers who thought last chapter meant Chigusa's home life was sunshine and rainbows. This is probably the most angst-filled chapter that I will write for this story, so those who are turned off by it, be aware that it won't be present in this volume later on. The bit with Kuhn was designed to fit together with this. I decided that I'd have the first part of the chapter be lighthearted and funny, with the second half introducing Chigusa's extremely terrible home life. For anyone also wondering, Chigusa IS a cutter in the series, but Ryou got to her this time before she could do it again. I would like to point out Reader MERAKUOH, whom I messaged on his review of the third chapter. I must confess while I was aware that Chigusa's home life was poor, I was going to have both parents be rather reasonable (with the exception of Mrs. Kusaka disliking Ryou). Reader MERAKUOH brought it to light that Chigusa's parents absolutely hate her, something I could not confirm in my salvages for information. So, as a result, I decided to make Mr. Kusaka reasonable but with no spine and Mrs. Kusaka absolutely unbearable to live with. Regardless of Mrs. Kusaka's personality, I still had the angst planned. I must say that I'm rather glad I made Mrs. Kusaka how she is: It's very fun to write.

I hope, even if you like or dislike angst, this chapter is to your liking, Dear Reader.

Until next chapter,

Take Care, Dear Reader.

-TheEndOfTomorrow.


	5. The First and the Fight

Disclaimer - I do not own .hack. I do not live in nor are associated with the Chiba prefecture of Japan or Ichikawa city. I also do not attend nor have never been affiliated with the Ichikawa High School, mentioned in this fiction. I own none of it.

A/N – Life has been very busy for me as of late, Dear Readers, and it shall continue to grow busier. I have started College, and hurdles continue to throw themselves in my way and take up what precious little free time I have had as of late. Also, for a while I was afflicted with a severe case of Writer's Block, perhaps out of stress. In any case, I feel that I am ready to write now, and we shall certainly see. Also, should anyone feel the need to contact me, you may contact me on AIM under the name 'TerminusCras'. This information is in my Author profile as well. Please note the changed spoiler tag below.

Of course, a continued warning: This fiction now contains spoilers for **all three** Volumes of the games and the players' back-stories, particularly Chigusa Kusaka and Ryou Misaki (Atoli and Haseo).

-Let's Meet Offline-

Chapter Five: The First and The Fight

A Multi-chapter Fanfiction by,

TheEndOfTomorrow.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Last chapter in our tale:

_Ryou took this opportunity to slip upstairs, glancing around for Chigusa. Entering her room, he found her on the verge of tears, sitting down. Chigusa had taken a pair of scissors out of her desktop, and was holding out her arm. Ryou had not noticed that Chigusa had been wearing long-sleeved shirts the entire visit, and now saw why. _

_Chigusa's arm was covered in scars of all sizes._

_Chigusa looked up at Ryou, the tears spilling forth from her eyes. Without a word, Ryou walked over to her, took the scissors, and set them aside. He knelt down and embraced Chigusa, who began to sob into the young man's shoulder._

"_S-see? Th-this is why...!" She said, in between sobs._

_Ryou shushed her, and tightened his grip. Chigusa said no more and spent herself into his shoulder. Ryou wondered,_

'_How did her life come to this?' With a single tear escaping his left eye as well._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

--(Delta Server, Mac Anu)--

Haseo appeared in the root town of Mac Anu, in the dashing, blinding white of his Xth form's clothing, but his appearance was not important at the moment. All that mattered was the beautiful person standing in front of him.

Endrance stood before Haseo in all his glory, his eyes, which usually only showed idleness lit up at the sight of Haseo. His flowing blue hair shook back and forth as the two approached each other, and the only thing that could make the scene more perfect would be some of Endrance's trademark rose petals fluttering around nearby.

"Endrance..." Haseo began.

"Ah..." Endrance started at the sound of his name. Endrance's eyes began to overflow with affection for the PC of the person before him, and he began to speak in his sultry drawling tone, even as three login portals appeared behind Haseo. "My heart was parched like a desert, but your thoughts filled it up..." Endrance smiled, and Haseo even smiled a bit. Endrance lifted his hand up to Haseo's cheek, brushing it tenderly along the Rogue's cheekbone. "After all...when feelings are shared, there can be no lies."

The three PC's that had logged in stood with their mouths agape at the revelation before them. Pi, the pink-haired, scantily clad Tribal Warrior, spoke first. "Haseo...!" She began, stuttering. "I...uhm, I never would have, um...guessed..."

Endrance and Haseo both ignored the intrusion, both focusing only on the other. Endrance continued, his smile growing considerably and his voice becoming more high-pitched and frantic. "I...I can't hold back any longer!"

A black-clad Harvest Cleric named Shino took in the sight as well, and spoke after regaining her composure. "I...guess Haseo has found the Key of Twilight, too."

Endrance and Haseo continued to ignore the trio, Endrance moving closer to Haseo. "I...I want to prove these feelings...!" Endrance continued as the pair's faces drew closer to one beautiful union of two souls, each twined unto the other-

Until Atoli, overcome with shock, fell to her knees and sobbed. "Noooooooo! Haaaaasssseeeeoooooo!!"

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--(The Second Morning, Guest Bedroom)--

Ryou sat bolt upright in his bed, sweating profusely and wide-eyed.

"Dear...God!" Said Ryou, cradling his head in his hands. "What in the hell was that...?!"

Chigusa poked her head in his door, which was cracked open a bit. "From the sound of it, you were having a nightmare." She was beaming at Ryou, who turned a tinge pink. "Good morning, by the way. You've slept well past breakfast." Ryou opened his mouth to respond, but his stomach instead took the initiative, with an audible rumbling noise, to Chigusa's amusement, which only made Ryou grow redder. Giggling, Chigusa said, "We can go out to get something to eat once you..." She turned a bit pink, finally noting Ryou's shirtless form. "Get dressed." With that, her head disappeared from the doorway.

Shrugging, Ryou pushed off the covers and sat on the edge of his bed, reminiscing on the night previous. 'The Chigusa from last night...she's gone?' Ryou furrowed his brow, pondering as he gathered a couple of clothes from a bag his Father had left. 'No...Nobody can just up and change that quickly...' Ryou stood and stretched out his arms and legs. As he retracted his limbs and looked in a full-size mirror that stood opposite the wall from him, it hit him like a brick wall. Ryou stared at his reflection in the mirror, approaching it. As he placed his palm and fingertips against the mirror, his double did the same. Both mouthed the words, 'The Mirage of Deceit...' and both understood how the title related to Chigusa now. Both exited the view of the mirror, as Ryou departed the room to shower.

The question Ryou asked himself was, 'Which is the reflection, and which is real?'

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--(Noon, Ichikawa City, Downtown)—

Ryou walked briskly next to Chigusa down a crowded sidewalk, in a rather foul mood with the girl.

"Ryou, I really should've-"

"No words. My damn hair smells like flowers. Enough."

In a rather impressive bout of ignorance, Ryou had accidentally used Chigusa's shampoo in the shower; his hair now emitting the fragrance of a tuft of freshly picked wildflowers.

"But it really does smell nice-"

"No." Ryou shuddered at the thought that had the nightmare from that morning been true, this would probably be the kind of shampoo he used anyway. The arm that had been damaged the day previous was also throbbing occasionally with pain, something Ryou blamed on the shower. Needless to say, this not a productive morning for Ryou Misaki's short temper.

Chigusa stopped in front of a small restaurant shop, turning to face Ryou, once more beaming. "Ta-da!" She pronounced, accentuating the effect with a wave of her arms.

"...It's a vegan restaurant." Spoke Ryou, the words bleeding from his mouth slowly.

"Yep! I thought we could both try out something new together!" Chigusa apparently did not notice that Ryou was not pleased by this turn of events.

"Damn it!" Ryou yelled violently, about to start into Chigusa.

"What...is it something I did...?" Chigusa looked crestfallen and defeated, dejection showing in her eyes.

Ryou caught himself, remembering Skeith's words of wisdom. "...It's nothing, my arm just had a little shooting pain. Don't worry about it, let's try this out."

Chigusa blinked, sure that Ryou was about to blast her like he had many times before in The World, and surprised that he was not. "O-okay..." She said, and the duo entered the restaurant.

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--(Two hours later)--

Ryou sighed, satisfied with the world at last on this day. The restaurant hadn't been as bad as he thought it would have been, and the two had spent the rest of the day so far seeing the sights of Ichikawa City. Currently they were both in the park that they had not been able to enjoy on the first day, laying on the grass.

"So if I pass off as a shadowing student or something tomorrow, I could go to class with you?" Ryou turned his head to the right and asked Chigusa.

Chigusa sighed, looking from Ryou to the sky. She was lying upside-down in relation to Ryou's position, but the two of them still had their heads near one another. "Ryou...not that I don't want to, but I really don't want you to have to meet up with that group again..."

Ryou gave a half-shrug, staring back into the sky as well. "I mean...what can they really do in a school?"

Chigusa bit the inside of her cheek in frustration. "You'd be surprised, they and a couple of other kids practically run the place more than the teachers do."

Ryou's eyes narrowed. "Why doesn't somebody put them in their place? I hate that kind of thing." Ryou turned his head to the right to look at Chigusa again. "I mean, it wasn't designed so they can have their run of the place while-" Ryou was swiftly silenced by a pair of delicate lips pressing against his own, if only for a second.

Chigusa pulled away from Ryou, who was staring at her in confusion. "I...uh..." Chigusa stammered, her heart racing. "I really...didn't think that through well..." The pair both now shared gleaming scarlet patches on their faces. "I just...l-last night, and just now, you're one of the only people who agrees that they need to...I just...wanted to say thank you."

Ryou managed to stammer out a short "An-anytime..." Before the pair resumed sky gazing. Their eyes lay on the clouds, but their minds firmly racing with thoughts about the other. Until...

"Kusaka, you're lying on our grass like a mud stain now! Get a grip!"

Chigusa cringed. "Ryou, let's just leave...um?" Chigusa looked to her right, only to see Ryou's coat land on the grass next to her.

Ryou stood with his fists clenched.

"Kusaka's boyfriend is back for round two?"

Ryou spat at the ground, his crimson eyes flickering with rage, even as his arm protested with sharp pains. "Damn straight."

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A/N – A bit shorter than my usual length, but it's better than nothing after months of silence. The Deceit factor will come into play more later, and of course the fight will take place next chapter, as my hands and head ache enough already for now. I realize it's redundant to have them return to the park and encounter the same group, but I like to think of the park as a paradise denied- the spot now of Ryou and Chigusa's first feelings manifest, yet they are not free to enter this land as they please, the reason Ryou fights again. Dear Readers, you will see what I have in store for our dear favorite main character in the next installment. Also, I have added in some elements of .Hack volume 3. I do not own it yet, sadly, but now that I can see the dubbed cut scenes online instead of poorly (and maybe mis-) translated subtitles. I will procure my copy soon, but that is another issue entirely, and one to be taken with my paycheck. Finally, the beginning scene (Haseo's nightmare) is the only yaoi I have ever and will ever write, for a joke. It is the translated version of Haseo and Endrance's marriage event at the end of Volume 3, although I reversed a bit of it and omitted a portion. Please note that I have nothing against yaoi, nor do I hate those who write fiction with elements of it. Indeed, I am open minded, and I ask those writers to be open-minded as well- I can just as easily play a joke on a "straight" couple than a yaoi or yuri couple. That said, I am sorry for the delay, and hopefully have adjusted enough to the switch in my life to find time to write consistently once more. One more edit I failed to mention, for any fans of the orignal series, the positions in which Ryou and Chigusa lay are indeed the same as those of Kite and Blackrose in a background from the original four games.

Ninja Author Edit-

In the most recent revision of this chapter (really, the entire story), I have placed the timeline after the events of all three .hack games, in case one missed the portion at the very top.

Until next chapter,

Take Care, Dear Reader.

-TheEndOfTomorrow.


	6. Echoes of the Heart

Disclaimer - I do not own .hack. I do not live in nor are associated with the Chiba prefecture of Japan or Ichikawa city. I also do not attend nor have never been affiliated with the Ichikawa High School, mentioned in this fiction. I own none of it.

A/N – Well, Dear Readers, after that hiatus, the update for the story felt very good, and all the kind comments and reviews were the icing on the cake, as the saying goes. I still have not procured my copy of Volume 3, as the $50 I have set aside now is for Guitar Hero 3. Did not suspect me of being a (false) rocker? Neither did I. However the next paycheck gives me access to Volume 3, and most importantly for this fiction, any scenes between Ryou and Chigusa that I may have overlooked in research. Given that any exist, I may or may not tie them in.

Of course, the ever-present spoiler tag: This fiction covers elements in all three of the G.U. games, as well as the backstories of the human players Ryou Misaki and Chigusa Kusaka, Haseo and Atoli, respectively.

-Let's Meet Offline-

Chapter Six: Echoes of the Heart

A Multi-Chapter Fanfiction by,

TheEndOfTomorrow.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last Chapter in our tale:

_Ryou's eyes narrowed. "Why doesn't somebody put them in their place? I hate that kind of thing." Ryou turned his head to the right to look at Chigusa again. "I mean, it wasn't designed so they can have their run of the place while-" Ryou was swiftly silenced by a pair of delicate lips pressing against his own, if only for a second._

_Chigusa pulled away from Ryou, who was staring at her in confusion. "I...uh..." Chigusa stammered, her heart racing. "I really...didn't think that through well..." The pair both now shared gleaming scarlet patches on their faces. "I just...l-last night, and just now, you're one of the only people who agrees that they need to...I just...wanted to say thank you."_

_Ryou managed to stammer out a short "An-anytime..." Before the pair resumed sky gazing. Their eyes lay on the clouds, but their minds firmly racing with thoughts about the other. Until..._

"_Kusaka, you're lying on our grass like a mud stain now! Get a grip!"_

_Chigusa cringed. "Ryou, let's just leave...um?" Chigusa looked to her left, only to see Ryou's coat land on the grass next to her._

_Ryou stood with his fists clenched._

"_Kusaka's boyfriend is back for round two?"_

_Ryou spat at the ground, his crimson eyes flickering with rage, even as his arm protested with sharp pains. "Damn straight."_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _

--(Ryou's POV)--

My name is Ryou Misaki.

I think I am about to die.

And yet...

I can't just stand here and watch Chigusa be ridiculed like this any longer.

If she won't fight for herself, then I will.

I am going to take a stance.

I am going to stand strong.

And...

I will fight every day of my life to protect Chigusa,

If I must!

--(The Park, Third Person)--

Two large fists immediately rushed, side-by-side towards Ryou's previously injured right arm. Ryou growled as he slid his arm through one of the two, allowing him to brush it to the side. However, the second fist belonging to the other assailant made full contact with Ryou's arm, leaving Ryou grunting with pain. In an act of pure will, Ryou surged forward and knocked the other boy on his back, propelling his entire body at them with his legs.

"Seiji, tear him apart! Don't take that!"

After hearing that shrill cry from 'Seiji's' short blonde girlfriend, Ryou felt two arms clench around his arms from behind, raising him up and allowing Seiji to stand once more.

'I remember this one...hope he doesn't!' With that thought, in a repeat of his previous move, Ryou smashed his head backwards. Upon feeling stinging pain on the back of his skull once more, Ryou knew he had connected true. As both Ryou and the boy grabbing him (Akio, as punctuated by a cry of 'Akio, you better not let that wimp beat you!' from the tall brunette) fell backwards, Ryou caught a glimpse of Seiji, fresh with a second wind, rushing forward with a massive right hook. Ryou kicked his leg out before Seiji could register to stop, and connected with Seiji's solar plexus, knocking the wind right out of the larger boy. Seiji slumped over and Ryou scrambled to his feet, waiting for their next move.

"Are you KIDDING ME?! Both of you get the hell up!" Rang through the air shrilly from the direction of the blonde and brunette. Ryou readied himself for more as Akio and Seiji rose to their feet, rage apparent in both of their hulking frames. Akio, sporting a dripping bloody nose, dashed forward at Ryou in a fit of pure rage. Ryou steadied his footing, ducked an initial punch, and then launched his own fist at Akio's lower abdomen. The punch connected true, but Akio's rage would not be quenched by pain. Ryou watched the massive arm to his right rush forward in almost slow motion, until-

"STOP IT, NOW!" Two small, petite hands wrapped around the monstrous arm, and barely held it back from attacking Ryou once more. Chigusa, tears streaming down her face and her small body shaking with the effort to hold back Akio's attack, smiled weakly at Ryou upon seeing that he was still well.

"Kusaka?! You better wash that arm later Akio!" Came the blonde's taunt from the sidelines, though largely ignored by everyone. Akio, his rage quenched and replaced with a dumbfounded and shocked look, backed away. Seiji approached his friend's back, with much the same expression.

"Seiji? Akio? Hit her too! Do it!!" Yelled the brunette from the sidelines. To this, Akio mumbled something along the lines of 'don't hit girls' to his girlfriend. Seiji slowly nodded in agreement. The two of them simply turned and began to walk away, deciding that Ryou couldn't be touched so long as Chigusa was in the way.

"No way! You morons!" Both girlfriends flanked their boyfriends on the way out, chattering and harping at them as they all exited the area.

Chigusa exhaled a sigh of relief and wiped her eyes, only to find Ryou lying down on the grass again, laughing. "Ryou, why are...you aren't mad that I stopped them, are you...? I just, I just wanted them to stop hurting you, and didn't want to see you as bad as last time again, and-" Chigusa spoke in her shaky voice, before being silenced by Ryou sitting up.

Ryou was practically beaming as he looked at her. "You did it, Chigusa!" From her puzzled look, Ryou spoke again, "You stood up for something you wanted, and you did it against people who torment you day in and day out!"

Chigusa laughed a little. "Ryou, it's different, I just-"

Ryou looked Chigusa straight in the eyes, becoming a bit more serious than the previous uncharacteristic display. "How so? Chigusa, I think this is the beginning...You stand up to them now, you can do it again later! You can take a stance, hell, you could even tell your Mother she treats you like crap and you know it! You can tell her you don't want to take it anymore, you know?" Chigusa looked away from Ryou and suddenly became interested in the grass, her cheeks reddening.

"Ryou, I really think you're blowing it out of proportion...I only did what I did because-" Chigusa stopped as she felt Ryou's firm, lightly muscled arms wrap around her frame. The wind lightly stirred, breezing over the two of them, leaving Chigusa to wonder whether the light tickling by her neck was Ryou's light breathing or the breeze. As the pair stood, frozen in time by each other's presence, Chigusa finished her last sentence in her mind.

'_...I only did what I did because I love you.'_

--(Chigusa's room, hours later)--

"Oh, just let me see the controller one more time!"

"Hell no, you had your turn!"

Ryou and Chigusa were both crowded before Chigusa's computer, Ryou currently wearing Chigusa's M2D and holding the controller. Onscreen his character, Haseo, was in the root town of Mac Anu.

Chigusa lightly punched Ryou on the arm. "You're absolutely no fun!"

Ryou smirked lightly, but with an air of faked annoyance, spoke, "I'm no fun! Your idea of 'fun' is to run Haseo into PC's around the junction, bow and say 'So sorry, but that was my humongous ego that ran into you just now!' or 'Hello, I'm Haseo, former PKK! Please stare at my bare midriff!' I can't help that that's how the Xth form came out! Blame Zelkova!!"

Chigusa giggled lightly. "Kuhn found it hilarious..."

Ryou's smirk became a frown. "Kuhn's going to find himself in Breg Epona's alley one day, and..."

Chigusa intercepted Ryou's threat to Kuhn's well being with, "And you're going to greet him and pleasantly talk about your day, because you've resolved your PKK methods, right?"

Ryou grunted. "You listen to Zelkova too damn much, you know? I don't like it."

Chigusa stared at Ryou for a moment before replying. "You're not...jealous, are you?"

Ryou's expression darkened. "Hell no! I'm not jealous of that pompous know-it-all Net-Slum-Master Tartarga-licking character hacking little-"

Chigusa shushed Ryou quickly, then sighing, spoke, "Well alright, but in case you were _wondering_, I'm not interested in Master Zelkova..."

Ryou's mood lightened considerably, and he continued to manage the Canard Guild Shop, before Chigusa cleared her throat. "Yeah, Chigusa?"

Slowly, Chigusa formed her question. "You know, um...Alkaid, right?"

"Chika? Yeah." Ryou quickly replied, the fact that he called Alkaid by her real name lightly stinging Chigusa.

"You and her...spend an awful lot of time together, huh?" To the side of her chair, Chigusa was crossing her index and middle finger, hoping to hear what she wanted.

"Um...I guess so. Mostly just sparring, though..." Ryou finished a verbal argument with Death Grunty over the effectiveness of nose-hairs, logged out, and removed the M2D. "Funny you should ask, she actually asked me to undergo that marriage event with her a couple of days ago."

Chigusa's eyes first widened, then narrowed in rage at the fiery Twin Blade. "Did she now."

Ryou, oblivious, swiftly replied, "Yeah, I turned her down, of course. Hadn't a clue she felt that way...Don't worry about her. She's strong, and she'll get over it. Hell, I'll be surprised if she lets anybody know there's a problem."

Chigusa's insides, previously in a knot, were now lighter than ever. "Huh?" Chigusa had barely heard Ryou's last sentence. "Right. Worry..."

Ryou stood, stretched, and headed for Chigusa's doorway. "Well, I'm tired...especially after today. Night, Chigusa."

Chigusa regained herself, and stood as well. "Y-you're right, we've had a long day...Good night, Ryou."

Ryou's eyes locked onto Chigusa's from across the room, and Chigusa stared right back. Both minds harkened back to earlier in the day, the last embrace they had shared in the park.

--(Flashback)--

'_...I only did what I did because I love you.'_

Almost as though he had heard those words, Ryou softly spoke. "Chigusa, what you did...you fought for yourself, which does make me happy enough...but you also helped me in the process."

Chigusa lightly gasped as she felt Ryou's lips first brush her neck, then plant a small kiss on her cheek. Ryou then murmured, "Thank you."

'_...Thank you for letting me have the privilege of loving you.'_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _

A/N – Dear, dear readers, I am overjoyed to finally have written this chapter, regardless of it being short for the amount of time spent since my last update. The complete plot I have established in my mind will probably take a chapter or two more to trail out, and then this fiction will be finished. The chapter's title is centric on the italicized 'echoes' of Ryou and Chigusa's loves for one another, in case that wasn't apparent.

Oh, yes. I apologize for the generic bully names 'Gary' and 'Clyde', but they were the first things that popped into my head as 'bully names'. I had previously failed to realize that writing in the third person presents certain challenges in regard to narration without set names, and trying out who was doing what by what Ryou had last done to them was getting monotonous.

Ninja Author Edit – Names have been changed accordingly.

This is the beginning of Chigusa's self-esteem being built back up again, certainly.

But next chapter, Dear Readers? Expect to see the Mirage of Deceit.

Until next chapter,

Take care, Dear Reader.

-TheEndOfTomorrow.


	7. Raging Heart, Deceitful Mind

Disclaimer – I do not own .Hack. I do not live in nor am I associated in any way with the Chiba prefecture of Japan or Ichikawa City. I also do not attend nor have ever been affiliated with the Ichikawa High School, mentioned in this fiction. I own none of it.

A/N – It has certainly been a long, long while, Dear Readers. My second semester of college and the summer after were far busier than I could have ever predicted it would be. I kid you not when I tell you that I had no free time whatsoever. It got to the point where, when I did find myself with time, any progress I did make on this fiction would be so small or fragmented, that by the time I would look again, I hadn't the slightest idea what I had been planning. After the semester was over, I spent my entire summer rather busy with working my job, and sadly, neglected this story. I am indeed starting a new semester of college, but I have high hopes that I will be able to finish this fiction at the least before I have to take such a long hiatus again. In other news, I have managed to play through Volume 3, and mean to watch .hack/Trilogy eventually. I must say, I am very sad to see the G.U. series go, but alas, all good things come to an end. In that same vein, so too will this fiction – as stated, the next chapter shall be the final one. It is my sincere hope that, after this absence, these final two chapters will appease those of you who have followed this fiction through, from its beginning in July 2007, to this final stretch.

Finally, our spoiler tag: This fiction covers events in all three games, as well as the backstories of the humans controlling our protagonists, Ryou and Chigusa, who are Haseo and Atoli, respectively.

-Let's Meet Offline-

Chapter Seven: Raging Heart, Deceitful Mind

A Multi-chapter fanfiction by,

TheEndOfTomorrow.

Last Chapter in our tale:

_Ryou's eyes locked onto Chigusa's from across the room, and Chigusa stared right back. Both minds harkened back to earlier in the day, the last embrace they had shared in the park._

_--(Flashback)--_

'_...I only did what I did because I love you.'_

_Almost as though he had heard those words, Ryou softly spoke. "Chigusa, what you did...you fought for yourself, which does make me happy enough...but you also helped me in the process."_

_Chigusa lightly gasped as she felt Ryou's lips first brush her neck, then plant a small kiss on her cheek. Ryou then murmured, "Thank you."_

'_...Thank you for letting me have the privilege of loving you.'_

--('Outer Space', The World)—

"I want you to look at me!!"

The Avatars of Innis and Skeith were facing against one another, grappling, battling strengths. Skeith roughly yanked Innis forward on one side while freeing his other hand from the larger Avatar's grasp, and connecting it in a blow to the Avatar's 'stomach'. As Innis staggered, Skeith quickly drew its energy scythe and let loose a mighty swing, only to cut through air. Innis materialized behind Skeith, drew both of its massive hands back, and dove into Skeith, further staggering the white-and-red Avatar. Innis stopped and turned, and raised one of its bladed arms, prepared to cut through Skeith.

"Nobody ever looks at--!"

Innis, or rather, Atoli, was silenced by Skeith's yellow, crackling scythe piercing through her body. Haseo's sadistic smile was terrible on its own, and it widened sickeningly as the scythe drove through Innis' frame.

"Kill..."

Haseo/Skeith began to tear into Atoli/Innis repeatedly, a mantra of "Kill, kill" accentuating every slice. Haseo/Skeith finally reared back for a final drive through Innis, when he saw Atoli's eyes looking up at him, in fear and hurt.

"Haseo...Ryou...you're...breaking my heart..." Then, surprisingly, Atoli's pained face turned into a self-deprecating smile. "But, if...if it's what you want, then...my heart is yours to break..."

Haseo wanted to scream. Both at himself for wounding Atoli so severely, and also at her for allowing it to happen to herself. Completely speechless at her lack of self-respect, Haseo did the only thing he could decide upon.

Skeith reversed his scythe, raised it to chest level and drove the curved blade into Innis, impaling the Avatar entirely, and lifting it into the air. As the Terror of Death raised his victim into the air, Haseo's eyes widened at the sight before him.

Skeith was facing Ryou, on the end of his own scythe. Haseo saw his real self, Ryou, stricken with pain, much the same Atoli had been moments before. Then, Haseo heard a voice echo:

"You, Ryou Misaki, player Haseo, are quick to anger. Beware."

--(Unknown)—

Blackness abound. Chigusa stared into the only object in front of her, a lone mirror. Her reflection stared back, with the same sad expression she wore. Chigusa raised her hand, pressing the palm of her hand to the mirror, as her doppelganger did the same.

"Nothing but an ordinary girl...No...Nothing more than scum..." She uttered softly, staring at her feet. Turning up to glance in the mirror again, Chigusa saw her character, Atoli, where her mirror image had been but a moment ago. Atoli's eyes were dull and lifeless, her expression and features ashen. She spoke, a mocking tone of Chigusa's voice:

"That's right, Chigusa. Nothing more than scum. That's why you've been leading poor Ryou along this entire time. He hasn't met 'you'; he's met your mirror image – the one you created for yourself, the image of who you want to be. You know you're not what he sees, Chigusa. You can't keep up the facade forever. Ryou will see through, and Ryou will leave you. Like everyone has. Your friends abandoned you, your father forces you to fend for yourself against your Mother, and Ryou too will pass you off as nothing more than dead weight, holding him down." Staring in the mirror at her character, Chigusa saw Haseo, Kuhn, Pi – every member of G.U. and Canard that she considered a friend, pointing and laughing at her character's turned back.

"They..." Chigusa softly spoke, her eyes shining with determination. "They wouldn't do..that! I know better than this, I-"

"NO!" Cut the mirror-Atoli's voice across Chigusa's. "No. You are in denial, Kusaka. The only reason they put up with you is because your worthless self managed to steal the Epitaph of Innis from Shino...without that, you are but dirt to them all. Do yourself a favor, Chigusa. Show Ryou your true self. Show him what a truly pathetic thing you are. That'll let him go on with his life sooner, instead of wasting his time with your unworthiness..."

Several mirrors now circled Chigusa, each and every one containing the same mock-image of Atoli, all of them either shouting angrily, crying, or reciting in a dull voice – "Let him go, filth! You're not worth his time!" – "I'm so sorry, so sorry Ryou...So sorry that I ever thought you and I could be together! Please don't hate me, I'm so SORRY!" – "You're nothing...You are but scum...expendable...replaceable..."

Chigusa wore a blank look on her face, muttering the words "Expendable...replaceable...scum..."

--(Morning, the Third Day)—

Mr. Kusaka entered Ryou's room, sighing. "I don't know what's wrong with her. Every time I go to the door and tell her you're waiting on her, she calmly asks me to go away. She won't bother to even leave for school...Doesn't seem like she's angry, kid. I honestly don't know. Did anything happen yesterday, besides you fighting those kids off again?"

Ryou sat on the edge of his bed, head held in both of his hands. "No sir...I honestly have no idea what I could have done to spark this. For that matter, I don't even know what could have in general, she was in a good enough mood last night it seemed..."

Mr. Kusaka's eyebrow arched. "Last night? How late have you been staying in my daughter's room anyway?"

Ryou caught a light blush, faking a cough for a moment to give him time to word any sort of reply. "...You really think we'd be dumb enough to try anything with her parents under the roof?" Ryou mentally slapped himself at that remark. _'Score, Ryou. Now you're being a smartaleck to her Father.'_

Mr. Kusaka huffed, peering at Ryou intently. "Arrogant...maybe my wife had a point." His expression then softened. "But you know, you're not a bad kid. The kind of boyfriend Chigusa needs, after all." Ryou began to speak, but was cut off by Mr. Kusaka again. "Don't even start. I obviously wasn't born yesterday. It's written over both of your faces, especially with the way you've been spending time together these past few days."

Ryou's blush deepened, but he kept his composure. "...Say I do like Chigusa more than she knows, sir. What then?"

Without missing a beat, Mr. Kusaka answered. "Then perhaps that's something she should be hearing now. It may even be what's causing this mood in her, as you are leaving tomorrow, after all."

Ryou gave a short nod to the older man. "Alright. I'll go try and talk to her, then." Ryou stood to leave, but Mr. Kusaka held out his arm, gripping the young man by the shoulder before he passed. "And I'll tell her...how I feel." Ryou nodded his affirmation again to the older man, who then let Ryou go.

'_It's far too late now to try and repair any relationship with my daughter after all I've let her go through,'_ mused Mr. Kusaka. _'Perhaps Ryou can help her find a way to be happy, though. And maybe after that, we can find the courage to start changing some things around here...'_

--(Chigusa's Room)--

Chigusa heard Ryou knocking yet again. It had been over ten minutes, yet the persistent young man continued to talk to her, knocking on the door occasion.

"Chigusa, please. Let me see you, open this door." Another knock. "We need...we need to talk." Ryou sighed, pressing his forehead to the door, his voice quieting just a bit, but still audible. "Please, Chigusa. I need to know what's going on. I want to help you..."

The doorknob made a slight noise, as the lock from the other side was turned. Ryou, sighing in a bit of relief, grasped it and entered, shutting the door behind him. As he looked up, however...

Chigusa's eyes were reddened with tears, but they had a certain dullness to them. The young woman sat on the edge of her bed, staring at Ryou's feet. There was silence between the two, until Ryou started to move towards her.

"Don't come near me." Came Chigusa's sharp command. Ryou stopped in mid-pace, slightly taken aback both by the commanding tone and the dull depression laced into Chigusa's voice.

"Why, Chigusa? What's bothering you? Did I..." Ryou stared at the floor. "Did I do something? Say something out of line? Look, I know I have a big mouth, I'm rude, I don't quite think things through before I speak, but-" Chigusa raised her hand upwards, causing Ryou's voice to trail off, as he was again surprised by the sharp contrast in body language from Chigusa.

"It's not you, Ryou." Chigusa continued to stare at the ground, at Ryou's feet, never once looking up. "It could never be you. You're far too great. You're strong. You're proud. You stand up for people. You have friends. You're everything I'm not." A lone tear streamed down Chigusa's face, yet she continued, her tone unchanging. "But I'm not jealous, or anything like that. I'm very happy, Ryou. So happy...because you deserve those things."

"So...what?" Ryou moved forward, brushing the tear from Chigusa's cheek. "Are you saying you don't deserve those things? Are you saying you can't be like that?" Chigusa nodded just a bit, and Ryou continued. "But that's wrong...you're Chigusa. Our Atoli. You give us things that nobody else can. That I can't. You're kind, you're always looking for solutions to things that'll benefit everyone, and you've never once looked down on a person-"

"No!" Chigusa screamed, her voice quivering. "I...I'm none of those things, Ryou! Don't you see?! It was all just a façade! That's who I am! The Mirage of Deceit! I forever lie, I always have a mask, to try and make people like me! All I am...all I am...!" Chigusa cried out in a sob, looking Ryou in the face for the first time with her reddened eyes, tears streaming. "All I am...is scum. I'm expendable, replaceable..."

Ryou kneeled, roughly grabbing Chigusa by her shoulders, and looked directly into her eyes. "You're...expendable? Replaceable? Is that what you really think?" His eyes shifting away to the floor for only a moment, Ryou gathered himself, before gazing back into Chigusa's eyes, and speaking,

"You're none of those things, Chigusa. Without you, there's...a hole in my heart. Without you...I don't have a direction." Ryou's eyes wandered over Chigusa's face, before he finally spoke, "I love you, Chigusa."

An air of heavy silence permeated the room after Ryou spoke those three words. Finally, Chigusa's mouth opened, and she spoke once more.

"I love you too, Ryou. I think...I might have always loved you." Ryou's expression softened as he heard those sacred words. "But that's why I can't let you continue loving someone so worthless. For your own good...please leave."

Ryou stood up, backing two paces away from the girl, his gaze downcast to the floor. "After all of this..." His fist clenched, the young man's entire body quaked with something deep inside of him. "After...all...of this..."

Chigusa raised her timid, sad eyes to look at Ryou's, and immediately withered. The young man's auburn eyes swirled with a myriad of emotion – hurt, confusion, but the most prevalent was rage.

"After ALL OF THIS!" Ryou's deep voice, full of absolute anger, resonated throughout the small room. "You tell me to just leave!? After saving you from Sakaki, after saying you wanted to atone! After everything! After ALL the tournaments, after the Avatars, after Cubia, after Ovan!!" The 'Terror of Death's' voice was now at full strength. The very same tone that commanded countless hapless PK's to give him information on Tri-Edge was now being directed, full force, at a broken young woman.

"Ryou, I-"

"NO!" Ryou scathingly yelled, silencing her immediately. "Where do you get off?! Telling me what I do and what I don't deserve! All I wanted was YOU! All I wanted was to be with YOU! And here you are, forcing me to live with an incomplete heart! Reducing..." Ryou stared at this own clenched fist, before turning his fiery gaze back at Chigusa and snarling, "Reducing the one I love to scum! I can fight EVERY battle for you but this one!" Ryou finally let himself quiet down for a moment, as silence again filled the room. Then, he spoke again, in a calmer tone.

"You claim to love me back? You can't love me until you love yourself, Chigusa. Can you understand that, please? Can you give yourself a chance?" Ryou stared into Chigusa's eyes once more, his gaze slightly softer, pleading with the young woman before him to understand.

"I'm afraid..." Chigusa softly spoke. "That...you just don't know who I am, Ryou. I know I'm worthless...I know I'll only bring you pain, look at what I've done to you now..."

Ryou's mouth twisted into a smile.

"Maybe you ARE worthless." Ryou's sardonic smirk only amplified his words, cutting Chigusa deep. "Maybe you were RIGHT! MAYBE YOU ARE SCUM! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ME! TO YOURSELF!" Ryou's eyes glared daggers into Chigusa, before he spat,

"You disgust me."

Chigusa winced as Ryou slammed her door shut, and cast her gaze to the floor of her room once more.

Ryou slammed the door to his own guest room, falling onto the bed and punching the pillow, hard. 'What in the hell did I do!? Why couldn't I have just...?' Ryou repeatedly slammed his fist into the pillow, in frustration. 'Damn it! Why...why am I perpetually such a moron! I screwed up...I went too far...I just...I just ruined my life...her life...'

'I warned you', came a voice from the very recesses of Ryou's mind.



A/N:

Well, I actually quite enjoyed writing that bit near the end. All I can tell you at this point is never fear, there is a single chapter left in this story, and this is not the end. I can only hope (and I know any fans still following this are also) that I can pen the final chapter rather quickly, and finally give this story its true conclusion. Please do read and review, and if you have any questions or comments you do not wish to leave in a review, my AIM name is TerminusCras. I thank you for reading this chapter, and again, will do my very best to not leave such a long hiatus between chapter updates again.

Of course, sadly, no promises.

Until next chapter (hopefully soon),

Take care, dear readers.

-TheEndOfTomorrow.


	8. The Kindest Truth

Disclaimer – I do not own .Hack. I do not live in nor am I associated in any way with the Chiba prefecture of Japan or Ichikawa City. I also do not attend nor have ever been affiliated with the Ichikawa High School, mentioned in this fiction. I own none of it.

A/N – I'll talk later, because I know why you're truly reading this final chapter right now – not to hear my babble.

The ever-present spoiler tag: This fiction covers events in all three games, as well as the backstories of the humans controlling our protagonists, Ryou and Chigusa, who are Haseo and Atoli, respectively.

-Let's Meet Offline-

Last Chapter: The Kindest Truth

A Multi-chapter fanfiction by,

TheEndOfTomorrow.

Last Chapter in our tale:

"_Maybe you ARE worthless." Ryou's sardonic smirk only amplified his words, cutting Chigusa deep. "Maybe you were RIGHT! MAYBE YOU ARE SCUM! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ME! TO YOURSELF!" Ryou's eyes glared daggers into Chigusa, before he spat,_

"_You disgust me."_

_Chigusa winced as Ryou slammed her door shut, and cast her gaze to the floor of her room once more._

_Ryou slammed the door to his own guest room, falling onto the bed and punching the pillow, hard. 'What in the hell did I do! Why couldn't I have just...?' Ryou repeatedly slammed his fist into the pillow, in frustration. 'Damn it! Why...why am I perpetually such a moron! I screwed up...I went too far...I just...I just ruined my life...her life...'_

'_I warned you', came a voice from the very recesses of Ryou's mind._

-(Afternoon, the Third Day)-

Ryou simply lay in bed, full of a strange mixture of shame, pain and anger churning within him, all because of his outburst to Chigusa. 'It was just like the Demon Palace arena finals...'

-'You doubt my power?'-

-'Why do all of you keep getting in my way...?'-

-'Get out! Get out of my way! Or I'll eat you alive!'-

-'No...Stop! Stop it! That's enough! Stop it now!'-

After reliving the moment in his mind, Ryou let out a sharp, pained gasp of air. 'I said I'd never let it happen again...' The young man shifted and sat up on the edge of the bed, staring at his sullen reflection in the mirror. 'Yet here we are. Once again, I had to take things too far, and then realize way too late I'm an idiot. She was in no emotional state for that...abuse I put her through. Even if she were...that was sickening. I feel like I raised my fists and...and beat her.' As his thoughts continued to strike him, Ryou spoke out loud, a sudden sick feeling welling up inside him. "Skeith."

No reply. "Damn it, I need someone to talk to, I-"

"You did not come to eat when it was time for dinner, so you'll starve for tonight." That sharp, cracking voice, slapping like a whip across Ryou's surprised expression. The young man's bruised soul flared with pain, which smoldered into a low anger.

"What do you want?" Ryou was not about to hold himself back in this conversation, not with the mood he was in.

"Hah! So you show you really are just an uncouth brat after all." With every word Mrs. Kusaka spoke, Ryou's negative emotions seemed to amplify. It was as if she were a human-incarnate AIDA bug. "What did you say to my daughter? She didn't eat either. Little bitch wouldn't even come out of her room. That's a good thing though, anytime I don't have to look at that...mistake is a better second of my life."

Ryou was practically seething with rage. "She's the best thing you ever had a hand in, and she is not...a bitch. Take it back!"

Mrs. Kusaka's stern expression flickered just a moment, as the woman was quite used to getting her own way, no questions asked or comebacks thrown. "How dare you tell me, in my own house-"

"I...told you...to TAKE IT BACK!" Ryou stood up suddenly, auburn eyes aglow with a whirling blaze of anger. "This is not 'your' house! You are NOT the only person living here! There are two other, living, breathing human beings under this roof who you are NO better than! You control and twist, trying to mold them into something they don't want to be to serve your own ends! A family is about a partnership, not this...this dictatorship you have going on here! And you know what? I think you probably even know the truth of it all...You're the real dirt! You're the scum here! You're the absolute trash, you're the BITCH! You take it out on the two of them because of your inability to swallow your god-damned stuck-up pride and realize you're the one at fault!"

Mrs. Kusaka sat in the doorway, stunned at the sudden, brazen outburst by the young man. Seeing the look on her face, Ryou knew he had struck a chord – several, in fact - and prepared for her whiplash. The comeback, the blow, the threat to call the police, the actual call to the police, whatever she could dish out, he was absolutely ready for-

"I'm the pathetic one, you foolish little boy? What about the person who cast aside my weak, spineless daughter into trash with no want or care for her emotions? That's right- it was you." Mrs. Kusaka backed away and out of sight down the hallway, her pride wounded by her inability to truly match Ryou's outlash.

Bur regardless of how she felt about it, the older, vicious matron's words had done a number on Ryou Misaki. 'I am...the one who did those things to Chigusa...' Mrs. Kusaka's final, venomous strike left the young teen speechless. Ryou had to quickly clap a hand to his mouth to stop from vomiting at the sudden surge of sickness that filled him up inside; the knowledge that he had done to his beloved what too many important people had done to her before.

-'Because...you stepped on Atoli's heart.'-

-(Ryou's POV, the following day)-

So that's how it ended.

The next morning, I tried to open Chigusa's door, I tried to get her to let me in so I could talk to her, to make things right. I don't know what was wrong with her in the first place, but I had...most definitely not handled it correctly before. I wanted a chance to talk to her again – to apologize. But it never came. Before I knew it, I was whisked out the front door of the Kusaka's home, into my father's car, and one pathetically long trip later, I was standing back in my room.

It was raining outside. How completely and utterly fitting.

The entire way there, I had continually sent emails, text messages, even tried to call Chigusa over and over. At the end of it all, I had nothing to show for it; she never replied, not once. My father asked me why I was so frantically calling her – I patched up some excuse about how I had left something there. That satisfied him, and left me alone to...

Honestly? To sulk.

The last time I felt like this...was when I first heard Shino was in a coma.

But even then, I had a target to direct my anger at...Tri-edge.

Right now, I had nobody to blame but myself.

Shino...

'_To: Shino_

_ Please meet me at Hulle Granz. I really need to talk to somebody._

_ -Haseo"_

-(Hulle Granz Cathedral)-

As Haseo pushed open the doors to the cathedral, he saw the black-clad Harvest Cleric already awaiting him. Slowly, the white Rogue made his way beside her, leaning against the railing in front of the pedestal.

"So, you wanted to talk?" The ever-pleasant, serene tone of Shino Nanao's voice echoed in Haseo's ears, already calming him down.

"Yeah...I have a long story for you, Shino. You...you might judge me because of what I did. But I need to tell someone, anyone..."

Haseo spoke for the better part of a half hour detailing the events behind his trip to Ichikawa, why he ended up there with Atoli for so long, and what had transpired on the final day. Shino simply closed her eyes and listened to Haseo speak, pausing for a long moment after he finished the tale.

"So, that's what it is, Shino...I really have fallen for her. And I really messed up – again."

"Haseo," Shino began, "You're forgetting that despite being both an Epitaph-User and a hero of 'The World', you're human." Shino turned to Haseo, smiling gently. "And humans simply...make mistakes. It's not anything to beat yourself up over, so long as you realize you did it and decide to make up for it, even if you make the same mistake once, twice, or a hundred times. As long as it's in your heart to make it right again..."

Haseo mulled over this a moment. His eyes wandered over the landscape of the Lost Ground as he thought intensely on Shino's words. Finally after a few minutes, Shino's soft voice broke into the silence once more.

"Find him. Ask him why you were able to beat Cubia, okay?"

Haseo blinked quickly, then looked over at Shino in surprise. "You say it like it's so simple...we don't know where he is, or-"

Shino cut in. "Did you think about things like that when I was in a coma?"

Haseo's objections were crushed entirely by the weight of Shino's single question, before he gave a light nod. "All right."

"I'll go looking for him...for Ovan."

-(Inverted city, Megin Fi)-

"I hope you find what you're searching for, Haseo!" Zelkova cheerily called to Haseo, waving before he warped back to the Netslum.

"Me too. Thanks for the help getting here..." Walking forward into the beautiful, forbidden city, Haseo's mind flashed to the two times the peaceful place brought him nothing but pain – when Ovan was first lost, and then when Haseo was forced to fight Ovan in their first match.

'Ovan...you always did know the truth. I need to know the truth, now more than ever...'

Haseo entered the inner sanctum, where his match with Ovan had taken place – the room still bore many Tri-Edge scars, the evidence of their epic, hard-fought battle.

"These scars that once were constant, painful reminders of Tri-Edge...and then later, the fact that you were not on my side..." Haseo ran one of his gloved hands over one of the dull red glowing signs. "Even they can be something good, after all. They just remind me of you, now." Haseo turned around, and came face-to-face with rose-tinted glasses.

Ovan's image was faint, and his voice terribly scratched and garbled, but the shock at seeing his long-lost mentor- no, his friend's image was still apparent on Haseo's face. "Ovan..."

"Haseo..." Spoke the warbled voice of the former player. "I will ask you once more: Do you wish to know the truth?"

Haseo gave a short nod. "I always have, haven't I, Ovan? You know that..."

Small traces of a smile danced across the mysterious man's face. "The reason you were able to beat back Cubia, the Anti-Existence, saving 'The World' and humanity from the Third Network Crisis..."

"...Was because you showed up to help us in the end, Ovan."

"Not quite. The reason you were even able to get up to that point was because you are truly a kind person, Haseo."

"Me, kind?" Haseo looked away from Ovan. "If I was as kind as you say, I never would have said those things to her...dammit, Ovan, I'm the furthest thing from a kind person..." Haseo glanced up – Ovan, despite Haseo's objections, remained unchanged and resolute. The image of the cyan-colored hero stared at the torn young man before him – refusing his logic, as usual. Just as always, Ovan did not budge. Simply explained away the contradictions, until even Haseo at his most skeptic would believe in him.

"Ah, but you said them with good intentions at heart. You were tired of seeing her live in the same cycle. You wanted her to be able to change. Your heart and your message were pure. You simply allowed your emotions to sweep up and warp your kind message into something different. Just speak what's in your heart, Haseo. The kindest, most bare truth deep inside of yourself."

Haseo stared at the somewhat-ghostly image of Ovan, before laughing lightly. "As usual, you know way too damn much."

Ovan simply smiled, leaving Haseo with one last parting sentence and a reassuring nod before vanishing back into the network.

"Delta, Submissive Tragedy's 1000 Oaks. I got it, Ovan. Thanks."

-(Submissive Tragedy's 1000 Oaks)-

The PC Atoli stood behind the Beast temple, gazing out at the night sky of the simulated area. The moon shone pale, almost illuminating the fair skin and blonde hair of the girl. 'How I wish I could get lost in this game, sometimes...then, perhaps I might be good enough for Haseo...for Ryou...'

Despite being lost in her own thoughts, she heard the noise of a warp login behind her. 'But, that shouldn't be...the only thing there is the Sign-...?' Atoli swung around, fully expecting to see AIDA or some other terrible phenomena that shouldn't be there ready to strike her down.

Instead stood the white rogue that had stolen her heart. Atoli attempted to search his computerized expression, and saw...warmth? Kindness? She spun around, making to log out. "Why...why did you come here?"

It was amazing the depths to which The World could simulate things...Atoli's player felt Haseo- no, Ryou – gently turn her to face him, and grip her character firmly by the hand. "Ovan sent me here."

"O..Ovan?"

A faint smile. "That's right. He told me where to find you."

"..But I-"

'The kindest, most bare truth...right, Ovan?' Ryou Misaki sighed out loud in real life, ready to put himself on the line again. "Atoli..no, Chigusa." Haseo placed both his hands around Atoli's, lifting her palm to his chest. "You...you belong here. Right here, in my heart. You hurt yourself, and all it does is hurt me. Do you think if you hurt me enough, I'll go away?"

Atoli's gaze went down to the floor – a tear rolling down from the real-life Chigusa's M2D module. "I don't...deserve you. You need better. I'm nothing, I'm-"

The rogue shook his head, a smirk on his face. "I won't go away. If you have to continue hurting me, I'm going to have to stay strong and keep coming back. We fought so hard against AIDA and Cubia to preserve this world, but if I don't have you with me, then I don't get a happy ending. Neither do you." Haseo tugged Atoli closer to him, the two avatars embracing – both players swore they could actually feel the other. "I have faults, so do you. You teach me to slow down, and...enjoy things. And I can teach you the good things about yourself. Why Chigusa Kusaka isn't a bad person – in fact, she's a very beautiful one. I can show you every single reason I love you."

Atoli's character suddenly logged out, vanishing from Ryou's, or rather Haseo's grasp.

"Wh..." Ryou sighed. 'That's...alright. I won't give up.' The teenage boy took off his own M2D, logging Haseo out. That was when he noticed his phone ringing. Quickly, he jumped up, practically leaping onto his bed to grab the phone, left on a bedside table.

"Hello?"

Chigusa's sobs rang loud and clear from the other end. "I...had to take off my module..." She admitted with a cracked voice and partial embarrassment.

Ryou's chest felt a weight taken off of it. "So, you..." 

Chigusa smiled – she knew he couldn't see it, but she knew just as much she he would feel it. "I told you so long ago...when I'm with you, everything looks beautiful. Even...even me."

-(Two Months Later)-

Chigusa Kusaka couldn't have been happier. Today she had done all of her homework correctly, managed to look her Mother in the eye at breakfast, flash a small smile to her Father, and to top it all off, today was the day _he_ was coming back to visit.

Any online relationship was something to work at – theirs, doubly so because of their deep flaws. Tomonari Kasumi (AKA Kuhn), while happy for the couple (even citing 'about time', a sentiment echoed among various other neo .hackers) jokingly made a bet that "Within a month, Haseo's gonna 'go Skeith' again, and I'm gonna have to rush in, sweep dear Atoli's broken heart off the floor, and-" Nobody quite heard the end of it – a certain Tribal Grappler's hand found itself implanted rather firmly in the Steam Gunner's face, accompanied by a sharp lecture on the finer points of decency in a private chatline.

Kuhn's joking aside, it was rather clear most of their friends were happy for them. A slight exception was Alkaid, who avoided Haseo and Atoli for a week or two after the 'announcement', and Endrance, whom while happy for the couple, eerily threatened Atoli were she to 'break dear Haseo's heart'.

Chigusa practically skipped down the front steps of her school, seeing him standing there. Nearly that same stance as the very first time she laid eyes on him. His eyes, normally somewhat fierce and brooding on their own, brightened considerably upon sight of her. They came within close proximity of one another – still a little shy, given the circumstances. They had only seen each other three times overall, this occasion marking the fourth.

"We need to get better at this girlfriend-boyfriend stuff." The young man joked.

"Hmm...Better this sort of problem than others, though."

He sighed. "A good point...here." Ryou took Chigusa's hand – clasping both of his hands over it, pressing it to his chest – his heartbeat firmly beating underneath her fingertips the only change in the sensation for the girl. "Remember this?"

She giggled, something Ryou had only elicited from the repressed teenage girl a few times in his visits – every time was like music to his ears, though. "I couldn't forget if I tried."

"Yeah...but hey, won't we be late if we keep flirting around like this?"

The 'meeting', of course, was with their friends online – a rare treat it was to get to interact with the couple actually being in close proximity to one another, something their friends seized upon with glee to embarrass the young teenagers. Specifically, Kuhn. "Good point...How's your Mom?"

"Same as ever. I guess a bit quieter..." Chigusa mused.

Ryou smirked again. "Suppose we need to keep showing her how a real relationship works. I support you, and you support me."

Chigusa beamed up at her boyfriend, laying her head on his arm as they walked. "Someday she'll see...I hope."

A light squeeze to her side came from Ryou's arm, laced protectively around her. "She will, I'm sure of it. And if she doesn't, we won't invite her to the wedding."

Chigusa flushed a little, before slapping Ryou playfully on the arm. "It's just an ingame event..."

Ryou stopped, breaking from his better half and staring at her incredulously. "This is Atoli, Ms. 'Stop-and-walk-in-the-cyber-flowers', saying something is 'just an ingame event'?"

Chigusa stuck out her tongue in reply, walking off in faux-anger, leaving the young gentleman to catch up, laughing.

Somewhere, deep within, the Skeith part of 'Haseo' watched. Perhaps someday soon the young man would be at total peace with himself – those repressed memories that 'Skeith' contained coming back to him, of a time before The World R:2, showing just how interlaced with "The World" Ryou Misaki was. How before 'offline' had merged with 'online' and took something away, the opposite had happened here; In this instance it blessed the two youths with a deep seated affection that was well on its way into blossoming into true love.

Three simple words, yet a set of complexities abound within them.

I love you.

Let's meet offline.

A/N –

What can I really say, other than it's been a long time coming? I had a myriad of issues with this, ranging from breakdowns to business to simple writer's block. But nonetheless, writing this to completion has taught me things – namely, I am not meant to write multi-chapter stories. In the future, I will fully (or mostly, at least) inscribe a tale before I decide how to best split it into chapters for a release, or either just make it a very long oneshot. I think this is also the end of my attention to the .hack fandom for a while – I do so love it, but there are other things beckoning my inner muse.

Things of note in this chapter were the inclusion of Ovan (my personal favorite character) and Shino. One of my plot points way back when was to bring them in, and have them serve as mentors and guides to Haseo once more. This is, of course, what I went with. I realize however that overall this is perhaps a bit weak and predictable – originally I had no less than four ideas, but by the time I actually came back to finish this narrative, only that one stood out well enough in my mind to write. The benefit of maintaining notes in the future, I suppose. Secondly, the ending. At the time of my writing this author's note, I have yet to go back and proofread – rest assured I shall. I do not know how truly 'strong' of an ending it will turn out to be – in my mind, I feel it might be a letdown in and of itself. Nonetheless, given the sheer amount of time between my immersion in the .hack fandom and this fanfiction coming into form, I must say it's something of a miracle that there IS an ending.

Perhaps, with this completed, I can begin writing in greater frequency – that's a promise I know better than to make now, so let us simply consider it 'within the realm of possibility'.

I do apologize for the time it took in bringing this to completion. I realize that a great many of the people who followed this from the beginning have either forgotten about it or wrote it off as 'perpetually incomplete' a long time ago. I apologize to those of you who might have stuck with it, idly wondering when I would take the time to finish.

There's not much more to say. I hope that, despite its flaws and issues, you the reader can enjoy this journey – whether you've followed it from two years ago 'til now, or if you happened across this and read it in a single night.

Until next we meet,

Take care, dearest reader.

-TheEndOfTomorrow.


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